It's a mystery to me
We have a greed
With which we have agreed

You think you have to want
More than you need
Until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me

When you want more than you have
You think you need
And when you think more than you want
Your thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place
'Cause when you have more than you think
You need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

There's those thinking more or less less is more
But if less is more how you're keeping score?
Means for every point you make
Your level drops
Kinda like it's starting from the top
You can't do that

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

Society, have mercy on me
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me


Lyrics submitted by CCDevlin

Society Lyrics as written by Jerry Hannan

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Society song meanings
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27 Comments

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  • +10
    General Comment

    Great movie, great song... To all you folks who think society is a bitch, count me in. They told me it would pass, that negative feeling but it didn't. On contrary, it's growing. What bugs me most is ideao that I would have to work for that ''sociey'' which seems pointless to me. Another cog in machinery.

    WildFoxon October 31, 2009   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    there's those thinking more or less less is more but if less is more how you're keeping score? Means for every point you make your level drops kinda like its starting from the top you can't do that...

    I see a lot of people coming up with complicated explanations for this, and that's alright I guess, but for me it has a simple enough meaning. I figured Eddie was basically saying while you don't need more to be happy, you don't need to get rid of what you have to be happy either. A person that needs to give up this and that in his search for happiness is caught in the same never ending struggle for fulfillment as the guy that needs this and that. Just be happy with what you have at any given time.

    kaballmoon August 09, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Thanks for the info.. let's hope my other favorite "Guaranteed" is completely Ed's song. I guess the answer's in the title

    CCDevlinon September 25, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I just walked away from the most money I ever made. Just got tired of begging for bones as a highly qualified professional whilst uneducated mutt persons who had connections got thrown steak. Good song of inspiration. I've been all over that desert near the Salton Sea for years in my work, I'm native american, seen Eddie "Into The Wild" concert twice in San Diego and the movie of course. I'm a happier person as each day goes by. I plan to spend much more time with my son, my grandmother and the surf. I feel like I'm living again.

    QuestForFireon April 19, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    the ultimate capricorn sign topic: society. Beautiful solo song from Vedder. It's a soundtrack for Into The Wild. A new film about a guy who leaves all things behind. Leaving society so to speak, burning his money and taking of to find true nature and true life.

    society, you're a crazy breed hope you're not lonely without me

    what a beauty.

    though i think Vedder goes a bit overboard with the twists and turns with wordplaying its still a great song with great music.

    CCDevlinon September 21, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this is a great song and the overall meaning ties in with the story well but what is edde saying when he says, "there's those thinking more or less less is more but if less is more how you're keeping score? Means for every point you make your level drops kinda like its starting from the top you can't do that..." In christopher Mccandless's philosophy less materially would be more in a moral or spiritual way....so what is eddie saying?

    sweetleaf1960on June 08, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Uh, I think the song speaks for itself. Just one think, I don't think the lyric is "crazy and deep" but "crazy indeed".

    Witlesson May 03, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    yea basically this song just sums up everything that the great transcendentalists thoreau and emerson thought and beleived. its not an "original" idea at all, actually everythingin this song has been said by thoreau before, he wrote a shitload of stuff, too bad no one actually reads most of it, but this does fit perfectly in line with the message of the movie, and fits, and does describe the materialistic nature of society, because basically who you are isnt determined by what u possess, but instead by ur character. also i find it interesting that in the movie/book hes always quoting leo tolstoy and other great thinkers of the time, its pretty cool, makes u think and feel like hes serving a higher purpose, and changing the world rather than just being a runaway like a 13 yr old linkin park fan who cant deal with his parents so they go and come back in three days. oh and this is an amazing song, i didnt mean to say it sucked cuz the ideas were already there, no, its a great song and a great line of thinking there, there rly are no original ideas if u want to be technical about it cuz one idea is influenced by the one before it etc.. so that isnt a bad thing at all

    bobolsonon December 08, 2008   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    "there's those thinking more or less less is more but if less is more how you're keeping score? Means for every point you make your level drops kinda like its starting from the top you can't do that..."

    I believe this part is about how the society is designed to prevent people from going against it. Since a person's worth is based on their material possesions and how many people willing to brown-nose them to get a part in their possesions, a person disagreeing with this societal concept will lose his status in the society. That is what he means with the lines "for every point you make your level drops". For every argument against the society a person presents, the society defends itself by denouncing that person as something bad and of low value, so the people within the society thinks badly of the person, and that prevents them from logically understanding and actually listen to the arguments. Instead they'll react in the opposite direction and go back to their 500 TV channels of nonsense entertainment and comfortably reinforce this massive lie that is their lives.

    So in the essence, the more you argue against the society the less people will listen to you, and like the song says, you can't do that.

    justahumbleguyon December 05, 2011   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    I think this song is fantastic especially because of the message it carries:

    To me this song is about how our society revolves around greed and how in general people strive for more or 'want' endlessly. Basically that society is materialistic.

    The point of the song though, is that the voice or character in the song has realized the flaw in this. That more isn't always better, that there is not even correlation between 'getting' and happiness, or fulfillment.

    I love the chorus, how it is so witty pointing out that without the singer buying into this mindset, that society would be lonely as 'it' can't have it all. Its insinuated that this mindset of course is ironic to the fact that without the singer, 'it' or society as a character wouldn't be better off.

    mattv3con September 24, 2014   Link

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